+ofthekorcariwilds
His smile broadened, unused to the trepidation but not unsurprised. Look at the surface and people saw only a cold, biting witch who revelled in the fear and suspicion she caused among the party. Ronan thought otherwise. He did not know how or when it would reveal itself but the sliver of vulnerability confirmed what he already suspected — that a living, breathing, feeling person stood before him. One who hid beneath an armour crafted of indifference but felt things all the same.
"I’d have thought that would be obvious by now." Ronan canted his head, steely eyes flickering. Along the way he had come to care for her. Perhaps more than he thought possible. She might not have made it simple. Yet he did not shy from a challenge and rose to overcome whatever barriers came his way.
"I’d go further and say I feel something more than friendship." He stepped closer, standing within the circumference of her personal space.
Obvious? Had it really been so… clear? The apparently easy ebb into friendship was not something Morrigan had experienced before. She did not like people - not the people she watched from afar, the people she briefly came into contact with in villages surrounding the Wilds nor the people she was currently forced to travel with - and yet he was different. Startlingly different.
And she liked that.
Her gaze wandered to the fading fire as her mind silently pondered on his words. It wasn’t until he spoke again, voice so much closer than before, that her gaze returned to his. His closeness stole her breath away… but it only took a fraction of a second to regain her composure.
❝Oh, is that right? And what is this more that you speak of?❞
She was teasing him, certainly, and enjoying it. She placed a hand on her hip and inclined her head, golden eyes sparkling as a small smile stretched her full lips. She knew exactly what he was talking about, and it secretly pleased her, but she would fall on her own staff before openly admitting that she enjoyed the idea.
❝Perhaps you ought to explain the concept to me, or… show me.❞
If someone told him this would be the path he was destined to walk -- to fall for a woman of the wilds and be so far from everything he'd known growing up, then he'd have laughed in their face. Tragedy had shortened his sense of humour, left him dry, biting, somber and angry. But there were moments he felt like himself again. There were some things duty could never take away.
Ronan's smile became coquettish. "How fortunate I've always favoured action over words." The Warden ventured closer, hands reaching out. They enclosed around hers, thumbs stroking up the tips. He took her response for permission, right hand migrating further to fall around her waist until his lips were inches away.
He paused, searching her molten irises for something only he could see. He smiled when he found it and pressed his lips atop hers, generating passion with each breath.
